


Secrets

by TheFangedGoblin



Category: House M.D.
Genre: Jealousy, M/M, Rating: NC17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-09
Updated: 2013-11-08
Packaged: 2017-12-26 03:23:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/961002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFangedGoblin/pseuds/TheFangedGoblin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chase has been secretly sleeping with Wilson for a month now, though neither of them is really as happy as they pretend to be. One night, House finds out about his best friend and his best employee together and is not happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written quite a few years ago, but we never posted it until now because it was forgotten for so long. Our writing styles were slightly different back then, so be kind. Sorry about the shifty POVs... like I said, this was written many years ago when we first began writing together and were new to everything. Hope you enjoy.

Dr. Robert Chase had been barely out of the lab all week. Apparently, his boss thought he should do nothing but grunt work. Chase hadn’t even been near the patient yet. Instead, he had spent the majority of the time running tests that he was sure House didn’t even need. He didn’t know why he was being punished, but he knew he didn’t deserve it. 

And now it was 10:00 on a Friday night and Chase was still stuck at the hospital. Most self-respecting people would have just left, but most didn’t have to deal with House’s temper which lately seemed to be aimed directly at him. He sighed and finally removed his tired eyes away from the unbearably uncomfortable metal of the microscope. He didn’t know what he’d done to warrant this kind of abuse, but he just wished House would tell him what the hell he did so he could apologize and they could both move on. Or try to. House hadn’t even been this bad after the Volger fiasco.

Chase was startled out of his thoughts by a paper fast food bag that was suddenly placed in front of him. He smiled up at the man who brought him the food. “Thanks, but I am too tired to eat,” he told Wilson, who had been his full-time fuck-buddy for going on a month now. 

The younger doctor still wasn’t too sure about the new relationship. Something about it didn’t seem right. Chase was pretty sure Wilson saw him as something broken he could fix. After all, that was usually what he went for. The problem was that Chase was sure he had been broken long before Wilson and he would continue to be broken long after they part ways. Some things just can’t be fixed. Perhaps that’s why he understood House so well.

"This is insane. I don't know why he has it out for you. He clammed up when I asked him about it," Wilson huffed, but all Chase did was shrug and continue working. 

"It doesn't matter, I'm about done anyway." Chase sighed, and to prove it, he stood to begin cleaning up. He was startled again when Wilson wrapped his arms around his waist from behind. Wilson was usually extra cautious at work, but having no one else around made him braver. 

"Come home with me tonight," he asked, kissing up Chase's neck. "House said he wasn't coming back to the apartment. I think he suspects I'm dating someone and wants to give me privacy."

That didn't sounds like House, but Chase figured Wilson knew him better than anyone. "All right. Let me grab my bag and I'll meet you over there."

***

He couldn't believe Wilson fell for it. House had watched his reaction carefully when he said he 'wouldn't be home tonight'. He said it casually as if it was no big deal and as if he really meant it. The idiot looked like a kid in a candy shop that was trying hard to hide his excitement, so much so that Wilson didn't even ask where his friend was going. House did not take many overnight visits elsewhere, with having no other friends but Wilson and a bad leg which prevented him from enjoying nights on couches. 

But Wilson had the stupidest look on his face like he had just won the lottery, and House did not need to guess anymore. The man was having an affair.

House knew that either this affair was very scandalous or it was very boring and uninteresting. In both cases, it was not unusual for Wilson to want to keep it secret from House. House tended to meddle heavily in Wilson's affairs, bringing with him ruin and embarrassment. He really should just tell him right here and now... it would save them both a lot of extra effort. But what would be the fun in that?

***

Chase made his way to House and Wilson's new apartment and hesitated. This all seemed like a really bad idea to him. Usually they just met up in a hotel room. Chase didn't feel comfortable enough having Wilson over to his place, it seemed it would make things more intimate than he wanted. He finally got up the courage to raise his hand and knock.

Wilson had been waiting by the door more intently than he would have liked to admit to. Chase had changed and showered before coming over, and for some reason, that made Wilson grin like an idiot. It meant Chase cared enough to make himself look presentable. 

Deep down, Wilson knew this thing with Chase was crazy. It started out as some kind of mid life crisis. His last wife had divorced him, leaving him alone. House came, and his place turned into a bachelor pad. Prostitutes were House's style... not his own. It seemed that Chase and Wilson were both looking for the same thing at the same time. But Wilson was a man who got attached to things very easily. It was his job, after all... caring for each and every last dying patient. It was easy for him to fall head over heels for the younger inferior. The boy was sex on legs... everyone in the hospital knew that. Wilson was a slave for it.

"Hey, Chase. Come in," Wilson smiled and held the door open for him. Once Chase was inside, Wilson wasted no time before he wrapped his arms around his middle from behind. Mmm... from behind. "You look good."

Chase looked around the room curiously and tried to shake off his nerves. House wasn't here; there was nothing to worry about. He forced himself to relax in Wilson's arms. "You too," he said predictably, turning in Wilson's arms to wrap his own around him. Sometimes, it just felt like he was going through the motions. But Wilson wanted him and Chase needed to feel wanted. "You look good enough to eat," he added with a smirk before he dropped gracefully to his knees and pulled at Wilson's belt.

Wilson had to brace himself against a wall to keep from falling over at the sight. His cock was rock hard already and had been way before Chase walked through the door. Chase never needed to help him in that respect. "Wait," he commanded before he bent over only to snatch off the other man’s shirt, throwing it away from them. Of all things, he liked Chase's chest. "There." 

With that permission, Chase slipped open Wilson's belt and pushed his shirt up to run his tongue around his belly button teasingly. The boy was a master at foreplay. Wilson’s hand was on its way to tangle into Chase’s hair when suddenly…

"AHA!" House screamed at the top of his lungs as the front door swung open. He did not even have to use his key- it was unlocked. What he did not expect to see was Wilson leaning against the wall with his shirt pushed up and pants unbuttoned with a half naked Chase on his knees in front of him. He swore he saw Chase licking up Wilson’s chest before the younger doctor fell backwards onto his back. House shuttered with something that was not totally smothered with anger. Then, he erupted. 

“What the fuck!?" House screamed. 

"I was tying his shoe!" Chase shouted the first thing he could think of as he scrambled off the floor and looked around frantically for his missing shirt.

Now, House really did sometimes have trouble tying his shoes. His obsession with sneakers did not really help matters, either. His leg made even the simplest tasks the most painful. But dear old Wilson had two working legs, two working hands, and ten working fingers. The man could tie his shoes by himself. He did not need to call Chase, of all people, to come help him at this hour of night. Obviously. It would also help if Wilson was wearing shoes. His toes poked out of the holes in his socks. No wonder he needs help... he would too if his shoes were invisible.

"What the hell is going on? You can't get a prostitute like everyone else? You have to fuck my team?!" 

Oh God, Chase hoped he didn't get fired over this. No offense to Wilson, but he wasn't worth him losing his job. At least House had dropped his cane so he wasn't in danger of having his head bashed in. He needed to get out of here. He spotted his shirt and grabbed it before he attempted to slide past House. He hoped House's attention would be on Wilson enough for him to escape.

Subconsciously, House had perhaps put two and two together and suspected that his youngest and prettiest Australian duckling was fucking his best friend, but he had only just realized it now as it was being shoved in his face. He should have picked up on Wilson's guilty attitude and known that it was one of his team. He should have known that Vulnerable Wilson would be looking for someone equally as pathetic, equally as needy. 

House didn't know why it angered him so much to know it was Chase. He should have laughed at them both, made a few gay jokes, and made them pay him weekly to keep his mouth shut and not spread it to the entire hospital. But House thought of none of those things.

House could be quick if he wanted to, cane or no cane. He caught Chase as he was making an escape and dragged him outside of the condo, shoving him against the door. "I can blame Wilson with having a midlife crisis but what the hell are you doing?!"

"I-I don't know," Chase answered honestly, but then decided House didn't need to know anything about his personal life. "It's not any of your business, anyway."

House shook Chase with two hands on his shoulders. "It is too my business! I knew it! I knew it all along! You two are just pathetically made for each other!" It was his business... it was his best friend and his employee. His longest lasting employee... it could not have been more his business. 

Just when House’s voice was about to rise even higher, Wilson stepped out into the hallway and in between them. "House, stop it! Come on, Chase, I'll take you home." He tried to coax Chase away. 

House was probably right, Chase thought. He usually was, after all. Maybe Chase was pathetic, and maybe he was with Wilson precisely for that reason. At least House hadn't threatened to fire him. "I have to go," he told House quietly as he pushed his boss’s hands off his shoulders. 

Wilson wrapped one arm around Chase's waist as if that would protect him. Wilson was no knight in shining armor, that was for damn sure. House almost laughed, watching him try to save Chase as if it was his job to do so and shooting House a warning look over his shoulder that he usually did in circumstances very different than this one. 

When they were on their way out into the street, House stopped them. "Oh, this is going to be fun. People won't be surprised when the pretty boy comes out as a pillow biter but they will just die when they hear about you, Wilson!"

That stopped Chase in his tracks. No one could know at the hospital, it would ruin everything. He turned to Wilson. "You can't let him tell anyone,” Chase said quietly. "You can't tell anyone!" he shouted back at House, but House had already shut himself back inside the condo. 

But once he was alone, locked inside, House did not feel any better having the last word. He stared at his cane on the floor, trying to swallow down the gravity of what just happened. He reached inside his pocket for his bottle of Vicodin... hopefully it had the answers.

Wilson turned to watch the door slam shut. He turned back to Chase in a comforting gesture. "Come on, he won't tell anyone. He's a coward. Let me take you home." 

Chase's car was not seen, obviously. He had parked somewhere hidden, not wanting to draw attention to himself. Well, that happened on its own. "No, I'll take myself home, thanks for the offer," he said. "He is really mad, isn't he? Does he always do this when you date someone?"

Wilson was challenged by the question. "I don't very often date anyone... and no." He hung his head a little as he said it. He always had issues with women... he thought having a man would be different. He thought having Chase would be different. And something inside Wilson did spark, even if he was secretly just as worried as Chase was when Chase considered them 'dating' for the first time. In reality, the only thing they shared together was sex. 

It was also strange that House reacted the way he did. Wilson had never seen his friend that angry before. Usually, he could read him pretty well. But it perplexed him. 

"I have no where to go, Chase. He needs time to cool off... I can't go back in there. We don't have to do anything... I just don't want to sleep in my car." He sounded pathetic. 

"Oh, okay, of course. I don't know what I was thinking," Chase said. Wilson hadn't been to his place before, it was his sanctuary. "You want to just follow me to my place in your car or do you want to ride with me?"

Wilson expected to have to beg more and to threaten to sleep in his car a few more times, but Chase saying yes was a good sign that he was starting to open up to him, even though Wilson knew he should be more concerned with the fact that his job may be in stake. If the hospital found out he was with Chase, a sexual harassment suite might jump up at him. 

"I should go with you. It would draw less attention." One car would be better, even though the entire world may as well know by now. (He also liked the idea of them going to work together, but of course he kept that part to himself.)

"Yeah, sure," Chase agreed nervously, getting the keys from his pocket and leading the other man over to his Jeep Cherokee. When they were in the car and heading further into the downtown part of the city, Chase spoke again. "My cousin comes down to stay with me on the weekends sometimes. She's a photographer in New York so she keeps weird hours, so she probably won't even be there when we are since she sleeps all day and it out most of the night. I'm only telling you so if you hear someone stumble in at five in the morning, it's just her," he rambled almost uncontrollably as he pulled around to a parking lot in front of a renovated warehouse.

He bought the building when he first moved to New Jersey and had the whole top floor turned into an apartment so he could have full access to the roof and plenty of privacy. Then when he turned the rest of the building into large, loft style apartments, he rented them out. Of course, Wilson didn't need to know he owned the building.

Wilson just nodded. He should have known better than to think House would give him privacy tonight. He took House's ignorance of the affair for granted and didn’t realize that he had been planning all along… and now he put Chase in danger for selfish reasons. His conscious weighed down on him and he stayed quiet. House was not above spreading the rumor, or just plain telling Cuddy. What if his patients were to overhear? He tried not to think about it. When the car stopped he paid little attention to the building and just followed closely behind Chase. 

Wilson’s silence made Chase more nervous and it took him three tries to punch in the correct code on the key pad to unlock the front door. Finally, he led them down the hall to the industrial size lift and shut the doors before punching in the code that would take them to the top floor.

When the elevator stopped, he lifted the doors and stepped directly into the two thousand square foot open area that made up his living room, dining room, and kitchen. It was decorated very modern and looked almost sterile. When Chase was upset, he cleaned, but if anyone ever asked, he lied and said he had a maid. 

"The master bedroom's up stairs," Chase said, indicating the large stair case. "Down that hall is my office, a bathroom, and two guest bedrooms. Everything else is right here." 

The master bedroom sounded nice. Wilson wanted to lie where Chase sleeps, wake where he wakes. He wanted to sleep next to him. He looked up at the stairs hopefully. "Let's go up, then," he encouraged, trying not to make a big deal out of it. "Come on, you must be tired."

"Okay," Chase sighed, moving up the stairs to his dimly lit bedroom. He slipped off his shoes and socks and pulled his shirt off. He then reached to kiss Wilson, because surely the other man wanted sex before sleeping. But the idea of sleeping in the same bed as a sex partner was not a comforting one and Chase doubted he'd be able to rest tonight.

Wilson's cock began to harden instantly and his lips found the Australian's eagerly. His hands quickly reached down to unbutton Chase’s tight pants. 

Chase still assumed this was some kind of experiment for Wilson. They had only had real sex once so far when they were both drunk and Chase let Wilson fuck him from behind in some no name motel room. Otherwise, they just stuck to hand jobs, blow jobs, and grinding into each other until they both came. It was sort of like being a teenager again. 

Chase worked on Wilson's clothes and stepped out of his own jeans when they fell to the floor. Once he had Wilson in his boxers, he pushed the other man to the bed. Chase knew that sex was always a good way to get your mind off things… like the look on your boss's face when he caught you with his best friend. 

Wilson sat down on the bed, guided by Chase's hand. He liked giving Chase control without really giving him control at all. He liked to watch the younger man lead them where they were going because it was so much better knowing that he wanted it. The one time they had sex, Wilson had to get him drunk and pretend he was, as well. It was the first time he ever had sex with another man and it was the best sex he had ever had. From then on, infatuation turned to obsession. 

Wilson pulled his hardening cock out of its restraints and stroked it slowly, all while looking Chase straight in the eye. "Do you want to fuck?" he asked boldly, and a chill went up his spine with nervousness. 

Chase’s hesitation was barely noticeable. "Yeah," he said, reaching into the bedside drawer for lube and pushing Wilson onto his back in order to straddle his waist.

Wilson breath came short just from the thrill of Chase agreeing. "You sure? If you're not ready to do it again... we can do something else," he whispered, because he was always the gentle soul, the one who never wanted to hurt anyone.

"Like what? We've fooled around often enough, this is the next stage. And it's not like we haven't already done it once," Chase reasoned, not knowing if he was trying to convince Wilson or himself. "We can do it any way, but I don't want to be on my back." Might as well lie down some ground rules if they were going to continue. Chase never liked looking the person in the eye as they fucked him, it always seemed too intimate. He reached down to stroke Wilson's cock to keep him distracted.

The next stage. There was advancement in this relationship and Wilson couldn't help but grin foolishly, despite the fact that a major, larger threat to their relationship was weighing down on them. Wilson clumsily stripped out of his boxers until he was completely naked. "That's okay by me... I don't need you on your back." In fact, his mind was swimming from all the possible positions Chase would look good in... none of which involved him laying on his back. 

As Chase stroked his cock, Wilson’s head fell back on the pillow with a long exhale of breath. "Suck it first." His hand tangled in blonde hair and tried to encourage him down.

Chase let himself be pushed until he was eye level with Wilson's cock. He licked up the shaft and slowly sucked the tip into his mouth with the ease of an expert. Wilson watched as Chase worked him, wondering how the hell he got this good. He never asked about Chase's past sexual encounters... all he knew was that he was not new to any of what they had done together, including intercourse. He was just too damn good at it. Wilson just couldn't believe that someone like Chase would choose someone like himself, who had nothing to offer him. 

The older man’s train of thought was interrupted by his own moan as Chase continued to do as he pleased. His hand squeezed and released Chase’s hair with every movement on his cock as he deep throated him a few more times. When Chase pulled away, he did it abruptly, and immediately began to kiss his way up Wilson's body. Finally, he repositioned himself to grind his erection into his lover’s.

Wilson gazed up at Chase with euphoria. "You wanna ride me?" He always had trouble talking dirty, but always wanted to learn how to do it well. Chase made him want to do it very well.

"Yeah, I can do that..." Chase whispered a little breathlessly, and over the next hour, he proceeded to introduce Wilson to the joys of anal sex. 

***

It was several hours later that Chase lay staring up at the ceiling, thinking again about House and the expression on the other man's face when he saw them. Chase didn't think he had ever felt so guilty before and couldn’t figure out where the feeling was coming from.

When Wilson was finally able to slow his breathing down to a slow pant, he looked over at the man lying next to him. Chase was withdrawn and far away, so one of Wilson's hands ran up his thigh in an attempt to comfort and distract. "What's the matter? Did I hurt you?"

Chase flinched when he was brought out of his thoughts suddenly by the feel of Wilson's touch. "No, of course not. I'm just tired."

Wilson stared worriedly down at Chase, knowing that was not all that was wrong. Chase was worried about House, and rightfully so. "Then get some sleep. I'll set my alarm for tomorrow morning," he told him, turning over onto his side and embracing Chase. They had never cuddled before. After sex, Chase always created a few inches of distance between them. But tonight was a night for breaking rules. "Is this okay?" he whispered. 

"Yeah, sure," Chase tried to make himself relax. A few minutes later, he asked into the darkness, "What if he tells everyone?"

Wilson found it hard to care as much when Chase was so close to him like this. He could smell the sex on their bodies and he sighed contently. They would need showers tomorrow. Wilson wondered what Chase would look like soaking wet. "I don't think he will. And if he does, we will act like it is a big joke. And who will believe him if he does?" Wilson brought up a valid point. Chase was, as House called him often, too pretty to be straight. But with Wilson? No one would believe it. 

Chase sighed. People were so much more uptight about sexual orientation in America than they were back home. He had learned first thing that it was better to just stay quiet about it. As much as he could, at least.

Chase tried to convince his body to relax around the uncomfortable barrier of Wilson’s arms. Though the older man was sleeping peacefully within minutes, it took him a much longer time to slip into unconsciousness. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late delay on this chapter. With a combination of working 24/7, power outages, etc., I've been distracted. But here it is, and I hope you enjoy! - Goblin

House's leg hurt. He toyed with the Vicodin bottle in his hands, finding the motion comforting and pain relieving in and of itself. It's funny how the mind can work with the body. 

But that wasn't what was going to solve the case. And neither would working Chase to the bone, but that sure made him feel better, too. Or at least, that was what he told himself. 

Living with Wilson since the ‘incident’ had been... interesting. It had only been a few days, but House had done everything he could to make living there as miserable as possible for his friend, who unfortunately for him, always had the patience of a saint. 

But Chase did not. He was at his wits end. He couldn't take House anymore. After working for years as his lackey, longer than any other intern, he finally felt himself breaking. Reaching the peak of his frustration, he threw the paperwork in the air and left the lab to barge into House's office without knocking.

"I quit!" Chase yelled, slamming his resignation letter onto House's desk in front of him. He had written it the day after House walked in on him and Wilson. "That's what you want, isn't it?" 

House barely flinched. He had expected this, hadn't he? "You quit what? Your job or your butt-buddy relationship with Wilson? Or does one work out in favor of the other?" he provoked him further. 

"Oh no, I'm not giving up Wilson. He's too good a fuck to give up," Chase spat back snidely. "But now you are no longer my problem."

That’s when something inside House snapped, something unreachable that he didn't understand, and in a movement faster than any crippled man should be capable of making, House had Chase roughly pinned against the curtained wall of his office. 

Chase's eyes widened and body tensed. It was always easy to forget how fast House could move when properly motivated. The stronger man didn’t allow Chase time to fight him off before he spoke. "Really? Because I don't think you are interested in him at all. I think you stick with him because he worships you and makes you feel like you mean something," he accused him sharply.

Chase got over the shock of his current position when House's words cut so close to home. "Shut up! You don't know anything!" he hissed, trying to break out of the other man’s hold.

"I know everything!" House screamed back, pressing Chase even harder against the glass. If he let him squirm away, he would never have him again. And this, right now, feeling him struggling against him, was the closest he had ever gotten to him. He wasn't going to let him go now. His instincts had won the battle over reason for once in his life. So he kissed him. Passionately. 

The back of Chase's head collided with the glass with the force of it, his lips crashing against his with all the aggression and hunger he had kept from himself all this time. Chase fought the unexpected kiss for all of three seconds before he just seemed to melt into it and his hands clutched desperately at House's shirt to pull him even closer.

House pressed his own body so hard against Chase that the blonde's feet lifted from ground, giving him a chance to pry his thighs apart and settle his hips between them. The kiss couldn't break… because then he would lose him forever. Chase tasted exactly how House had imagined he would, even if he didn't even realize himself that he had. 

When House did finally tear himself away from the kiss, Chase nearly fell to the floor. Initially, it was House’s realization that this was actually happening, that it wasn’t just one of his sick little twisted fantasies, which had brought it to a sharp halt. 

But Chase had responded, House thought. Enthusiastically. The older doctor fought back another urge to pin him against the wall and have him right then and there in the dirtiest way possible. But he took a step back instead. 

"Get out then if you want to leave," he snarled, and the tone of his voice was dangerous.

Chase immediately attempted to right himself and leaned against the wall when nothing else would support him, He panted harshly for air as he tried to understand what the hell just happened. All that he could come up with was that this must some kind of sick joke on House's part. "You are such an asshole," he pushed past him with angry tears in his eyes.

House tried to convince himself that he did it just to get even with Wilson. Otherwise, that kiss raised more questions he wasn't prepared to answer. "And you just cheated on Wilson.”

Chase froze at House's words. He wouldn't tell Wilson, would he? He turned around, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. "You wouldn't," he threatened, trying to keep his voice steady, but the hurt, anger, and panic was still there.

House forced a smirk onto his face, but it was hard when his heart was pounding out of his chest. "Look who you're talking to. Whether or not he'll believe you is one thing, but I know he would not trust you ever again." 

Chase had never had much stability in his life and that was one thing Wilson naturally provided. He couldn't lose Wilson because of one of House's mind games. His whole stance seemed to deflate at the thought. "Please, don't tell him," he asked quietly, looking at the floor instead of House because it was all too much for him to take at the moment.

House's eyes remained steady on Chase. "Then don't quit," he negotiated, trying not to taste the younger man still on his tongue.

Ah. Blackmail. At least that Chase could understand. "You don't want me here. Why can't you just let me go?" he asked even as he walked over to House's desk and picked up his resignation letter and crinkled it up to throw it away.

House continued to stare with an unreadable expression. "Because I hate doing interviews," he answered simply. In reality, he didn't know why he was willing to go to these lengths to keep Chase. He blamed it on his own resistance to change.

"Sure," Chase said, finally looking up at House. 

House watched as Chase lingered, not understanding why he was still in his office. The more he stayed here the more House was going to panic. "What, looking for more? Get out!" he suddenly ordered in full seriousness.

That snapped Chase out of his thoughts and he fled the office like a puppy with his tail tucked between his legs, leaving House’s leg screaming in pain.  
***

Wilson sat his tray down at the hospital cafeteria booth where House was sitting. He watched his unusually quiet friend uneasily.

"So, I was thinking," Wilson began, pouring dressing over his salad. "Chase's cousin Kylie has been staying with him a lot lately. She's single and intelligent and attractive. You should come over to dinner tonight and meet her."

House waited until Wilson finished topping off his salad with dressing before stealing it with years of careful practice. He smirked and began to eat it right away, marking it as his so Wilson wouldn't want it anymore. He wished he could throw it into his face instead. The nerve of the guy to try to act like everything is normal after House walked in on him and his employee... "You think I find hookers based on their intelligence and marital status? I don't need your help getting laid," he munched.

"Going on a date every once in awhile won't kill you. Besides, she's got this snarky sense of humor and she's constantly picking on Chase, so you have that in common at least," Wilson tried to lighten the mood. "They actually look a lot alike. Kylie told me their mother's were identical twins."

House gave Wilson a strange look to go with his strange suggestions. Not willing to lose his pride, especially after what happened in his office, he wasn't going to let Wilson play match maker. "What do you mean by that? Why would I want someone who looks like Chase?"

Wilson stopped drinking his coffee and put it down to look at House. "I didn't mean it like that, just... you know, giving you an idea of what she looks like. They have the same, I don’t know… coloring."

House chuckled at that and pushed aside the salad to grab Wilson's sandwich instead. He didn't like salad and only stole it because it was sort of a tradition by now to take anything Wilson wants. Is that why he kissed Chase? "Same coloring? You're weird, Wilson. I didn't think the girl was black or anything."

Wilson rolled his eyes. "You'll see want it mean, they just look more like siblings than cousins. She's a photographer in New York."

House smirked, not interested, primarily because Wilson wanted him to be. "If I wanted someone who looked like Chase, I'd just fuck Chase," he smirked, the innuendo there but subliminal at the same time. 

"Yeah, right," Wilson mumbled to himself. "Speaking of Chase… I thought it might be nice to have him stay over night soon," he said mildly, "Are you going to make him uncomfortable if he does, or can you actually act like a grow up instead of a kid that's had his favorite toy taken away?"

Just the very thought of that made House want to punch Wilson in his stupid, love struck face. "I'm not just going to make his life miserable, I'm going to make yours even worse." He gave Wilson a smile that proved he really would do it. "And it wouldn't be fair just to allow you to have guests... I'd invite Cuddy over so she can see just how close you are to my employee."

Wilson laughed at that. "Do you really think, that after all she's put up with from you that she's going to care that two consenting adults are sleeping together? You are going to need more leverage than that, and you've already blabbed to the whole hospital... thanks, by the way, because Chase is having a really hard time with it. Not that you care."

House was taken by surprise with Wilson's reply that sounded oddly like he was threatening him back. How very unlike Wilson. Maybe since he won himself a much younger boy toy with an exotic accent, he suddenly grew a backbone. "Oh, and I'm sure your a big gay shoulder to cry on," he mocked. "Sorry lover boy, but I think your young Australian boyfriend is using you."

Wilson frowned. It was obviously something he had thought about before but couldn't admit it to himself. "And what could he possibly be using me for?" he asked sarcastically, but deep down, he really wanted to know what House thought. The other man was amazing at reading people's true intentions. 

"Oh, like you don't know,” House challenged his friend. “Chase loves attention and admiration. He knows he can get it from an older man who drools over him. Thus, he is using you."

"Everyone loves to be admired and have attention," Wilson shrugged it off.

House snorted again at Wilson's stupidity. "He likes the feeling you give him, but he doesn't have feelings for you." He tried to put it more plainly so he would understand.

"You don't know anything about our relationship," Wilson argued.

"Hey, I walked in on you both. I think I know a thing or two." He made sure he said that just loud enough for the doctors sitting at the other tables to overhear. 

Wilson abruptly stood up from the booth and turned around to leave, but as he was walking away, he said, "I'll see you at home tonight."

***

This was a horrible idea. How had he let himself get talked into this? Chase was currently standing in the kitchen of House and Wilson's condo, watching as Wilson finished cooking dinner. His cousin Kylie was in the living room making small talk with Cameron and Foreman. Why had Wilson invited them? Chase had no idea, but he was pretty sure Wilson was doing all of this to get back at House...

The thought made Chase's stomach clench. Had House told Wilson about the kiss? No, Chase was pretty sure Wilson wouldn't be so touchy-feely with him right now if he had. And Chase definitely wasn't going to think about how good House's lips felt on his. Chase had a feeling he was stuck in the middle of some game he could never fully understand, much less win.

House's leg was hurting more than usual tonight. Wilson would notice right away and call it psychological, and House would sneer and make up excuses and snippy come backs as to why it wasn't. But every time he thought of Chase with Wilson, the leg would cramp. 

House had been shocked to say the least to see not only Chase's car parked outside their condo, but Cameron and Foreman's as well. He stared in horror, knowing what he had just walked into, and knowing just mere curiosity had brought the rest of his team. In a moment of fury, he thought about smashing every window of every car, including Wilson's, with his cane.

He stormed through the door instead. “I don't remember ever allowing an office party in my apartment."

"I told you this was a bad idea," Chase hissed as Wilson left the kitchen. Unsure of what else to do, he followed him out. 

"Well, you obviously didn't get the memo," Wilson told House as he sat a meatloaf down on the table. "Dinner is served," he told the others, and unexpectedly pulled Chase into a quick kiss before taking a seat at the table. Chase sat down in the seat beside him and avoided eye contact with House, his cheeks burning hotly.

House rolled his eyes. Wilson had pulled a fast one on him. "Oh, you are going to pay," he threatened, and immediately rushed off to his bedroom. "I'm moving out. You and Chase can have your gay little love nest, I'll leave," he shouted from the other room as he gathered up his dirty clothes littering the floor.

"Oh, come on, You are not going anywhere. Stop making a scene and come eat. Since when do you pass up free food?" Wilson asked, just as Chase whispered to him. 

"This was a bad idea, I should go."

"Don't worry. I got this," Kylie suddenly spoke up confidently, giving Chase a quick wink before heading towards House's bedroom and shutting the door behind her for privacy. "Hello, Dr. House, I'm Kylie and I think you and I can help each other."

House stopped packing and turned to face her and raised an eyebrow. Wilson was right. She looked a lot like Chase, while not looking like him at all. "Usually girls take me out to dinner before they proposition me." He gave an obviously fake smile.

Kylie rolled her eyes. "I seriously doubt that," she said, making herself comfortable on the end of House's bed. "Listen. You want Robbie and I want Wilson and for some reason, Wilson's got it in his head to hook us up which would obviously never work out. So I propose we break them up, without them realizing we did anything at all, of course. You see, Robbie won’t break up with Wilson... I know that dumb idiot better that he knows himself and he won’t give Wilson up, no matter what Wilson does. So… it's going to have to come from Wilson's end."

"Woah, woah, woah," House held up his hands as he tried to absorb all of what she was saying. "What makes you think I'm gay? Is it my obsession with sneakers? And what makes you think I would want Chase, even if I were? Maybe I want Wilson instead," he challenged.

Kylie shrugged. "I have a knack for reading people. Hearing all the things you've done to Robbie over the years... but that is besides the point, I don't think you’re gay but I know you want my cousin and I know for a fact that Chase has been in love with you for a long time now, even if he is too stubborn to admit it."

House felt the overwhelming need to sit down... or collapse, but he instead just leaned so heavily on his cane he thought it would snap. He smirked devilishly as if this was an amusing joke. "Wilson told me you were intelligent and pretty but he left out the fact that you were bat shit," he told her. "I treat Chase like I do all my other employees. Like shit. Doesn't mean I want to bone all of them."

Kylie gave House a dramatic sigh. "Fine, then. Should I leave you to throw your hissy fit?"

House stopped her before she could leave. "He told you something, didn’t he? Don't bother trying to deny it. I know he must have told you what happened. It doesn't mean I want him, it just means I’d like to fuck up Wilson's stupid midlife crisis. But what's your scheme? I can't resist a good scheme. At least let me hear it."

Kylie smiled deviously and slipped her hand into her pocket to pull out a small Ziploc bag with a few purple, star shaped pills. "Robbie already has a difficult time saying no to people, and on these, well, he'll be all over anyone who looks at him twice. So I propose we talk the others into going to a club or a bar. I slip a few of these into Robbie's drink, and Wilson sees how 'loose' Robert can get." 

House was impressed. Wilson hadn’t been wrong that Kylie and House could very well be compatible… but maybe a little too compatible. A wide smirk grew across his face. He couldn't have thought up a better scenario himself. "Oh, this is going to be fun. Even though I still think you're very, very wrong... I can't pass up an opportunity to see this. But there’s one thing that I don’t get… you’re attracted to Wilson? Really?” His face contorted with a perfect mixture of confusion and disgust.

“Hey, I won’t judge you, you don’t judge me,” Kylie offered, and House agreed with a grin.

***

The club just seemed too loud to Chase, who wasn't aware that his cousin had been drugging his drinks since dinner. It was a gay-friendly place that he had been to a few times before when he was looking for a one night stand. In fact, some of the men looked a little too familiar and he stayed close to Wilson.

House watched Chase carefully as he sat close to his friend in their booth near the bar. He tapped his fingers on the table in boredom and took another shot of whiskey. "So when are they going to start playing dress up and sing the YMCA? I don't think I'll stay for that part."

Wilson rolled his eyes. He was new to this atmosphere too, but he was better at hiding his discomfort. "I'm sure they save that for the end of the night," he said sarcastically as he took Chase's hand and watched the sea of bodies moving on the dance floor. 

Kylie, sensing the awkwardness, spoke up. "Come on, Robbie, let’s show them how it's done," she grinned, and not giving her cousin a choice, she stood and pulled him with her by his arm.

"I'm not so sure..." Chase tried to protest, but it didn't do him any good.

The two older men watched as Chase was led off by his cousin and thrown into the sea of dancing drunk men and women. After a second of watching the crowd, trying to keep an eye on Chase through the sea that threatened to swallow him up, he looked over at Wilson who look like a pathetic lost puppy. 

House rolled his eyes. "Come on, Wilson, let's go get another round now that the girls are gone. It’ll put hair on your chest."

***

On the dance floor, Chase was actually starting to have fun and he couldn't remember why he didn’t want to come in the first place. It was hot and smelled of cologne and sweat and It wasn't long before he lost Kylie and himself in the crowd. He was dancing with one stranger while another came up to dance behind him. It was a Chase sandwich and he giggled at the thought. 

He man behind him seemed to be all over him and he felt lips brush against his neck as the other guy whispered in his ear, "Let's go somewhere more private."

Chase nodded. The two men he was dancing with had to help him walk through the crowd, holding up his uncoordinated body. He remembered suddenly finding himself in a bathroom stall, deeply kissing one man while another was on his knees pulling at his belt. That seemed to wake Chase up a bit. "No, stop," he mumbled, but he could barely keep his eyes open much less push them away.

***

Wilson had refused to go to the bar, wanting instead to keep an eye on Chase. But looking into the crowd, such a thing was impossible. Chase was lost to them almost immediately, but it caused a strange kind of feeling to overwhelm House. It made him angry, losing Chase to this mess of people. He tried to take his mind off of it. "Wonder where your boy toy is. He could be anywhere... with anyone," he teased, feeling very drunk and wanting this plan to work. Wilson had to know, or at least think, that Chase was off doing the worst.

But all it caused was uneasiness in House himself. He knew all too well where to look for him. House may not frequent clubs, but he did know what happened in them. Suddenly, he didn’t feel like sticking around to slowly torture Wilson. "I have to take a piss. Pay for my drinks,” he said quickly, and limped off to the men's room.

In one of the stalls he found two men practically devouring Chase alive. There was no hesitation as House stormed up to them, and when the one man ravaging his neck took notice and looked up, House punched him on the cheek. When the one frustrated with Chase's belt stood, House slammed him against the wall. 

"Get the fuck off of him!" House screamed, and both men panicked and scrambled away from the doctor.

Chase slid down the wall when he realized the person supporting him suddenly disappeared. He looked up to find a very angry looking House. "What happened?" he asked.

Kylie was wrong, House thought. The pills didn't make Chase horny and promiscuous, they just made him so stupid he couldn't physically put up a fight and say no. The older man roughly brought Chase up to a standing position by the fabric of his sweaty clothes and pressed him to the wall. "You slut!" He shook him. 

"Don't call me that," Chase could only mumble, "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Didn't do anything wrong? Those guys were all over you. Probably would have taken turns fucking you, and you wouldn't have even stopped them. You're a slut,” House tried to further prove his point, though it was lost, even on him. Chase only shook his head in denial.

Hidden in their stall, House forced his voice to drop. As did his drunken hand, which cupped Chase between his legs. He felt him there, half hard, and House had to shake himself out of a stupor and keep his glare firm. "You're hard. You wanted them."

Chase hissed and thrust into House's hand, the roughness of denim so crudely in the way. "I didn't mean to," he said barely aware of what he was saying. He only knew that he apparently drunk more than he should have and House had scared the men he didn't want away.

House tried to take his hand away from where it pressed against the bulge in Chase's jeans. He tried, but something inside him wouldn't allow it. Chase’s belt hung undone, his top button freed, and House was hypnotized, too far gone into the fantasy to wake up from it. This may be his only chance. This is his only chance. 

"Or is it you are getting hard because I’m touching you? Is that it?" House leaned so close to Chase, so far against him, that he no longer needed his other arm to hold him up. "Do you want to push me away just like those other men?" he taunted directly into his ear.

Chase shivered when House's words seemed to go directly to his cock that seemed to have a mind of its own. "Please..." he begged, though he didn't know if he was asking House to stop or keep going.

House felt Chase's cock reaching full hardness and he thrilled, losing his mind even further. "Please, what, hmm?" He squeezed him, their faces half an inch from one another's despite the height difference. "Please fuck you right here against the wall of a dirty bathroom stall? Please finish what they started? You have no fucking idea what I want to do to you."

House watched, hypnotized, as the other man’s tongue came to taste his own perfect, swollen lips. "This isn't real, this is a dream," Chase decided. Only in his own dark, subconscious mind could they exist like this.

"You dream about your boss fucking you in a club bathroom?" House half teased, half hoped this really was a figment of their imagination. He squeezed the boy again, harder this time, feeling his heat against his palm. "I have different, better dreams... of spreading you open in my bed. Or against the glass walls of my office. In the elevator. A blowjob in the locker room shower. Bending you over my desk."

Chase closed his eyes. He'd wake up soon with a massively aching erection, but it would all be a dream, and House would still hate him and make fun of him and life would continue on like always. But he didn’t want to wake up. It felt an awful lot like he was going to come right there in his pants. 

"House," he whispered the name like a prayer.

"Chase," House echoed back, more than a little mockingly, though he relished how it had sounded from the accented, perfect mouth. "I always knew you would make cute little noises," he teased, his hot breath ghosting across Chase's ear. "You're mine. You're fucking mine. You always have been." Another squeeze proved it.

Chase nodded his head in urgent agreement, but wasn't he seeing Wilson? And didn't House hate him? "But... you don't want me."

House withdrew his hand. He wanted to keep Chase wanting for as long as possible, because once he woke up sober, he wouldn't anymore. "You're an idiot," was his only answer, his lips only whisper away from Chase’s. "Do you think of me when Wilson is fucking you? Do you imagine it's my cock instead?" he demanded the question in a heated tone.

Chase groaned. He was so hard that his cock was digging painfully into his jeans. "Maybe I'm the one fucking him," he whispered harshly, and tried to keep himself from closing the distance between them or from reaching for himself and jerking off in front of House. His fingers twitched at the thought.

House's soft laugh ghosted across Chase's lips. He pressed himself harder against Chase, his hips flattening against the younger man's and in return forcing his legs to spread only just slightly. But it was enough, and House knew Chase could feel hardness on hardness. "Yeah, right. I know you like to take it. With an ass like this... you have to." A hand groped Chase's backside to prove it. "Does his feel like I don't want you?"

"I don't...” Chase stuttered, and House hung on those words. “I don't… I don’t feel so good." 

With that, Chase’s eyes rolled back into his head and he lost consciousness. House dropped Chase, who slid down in a heap on the floor as he heard the bathroom door open and the familiar footfall of his friend. Dammit. 

House took a few steps away from Chase’s limp body. His head was tilted to the side and a hickey was forming. The older man took a deep breath, pulled his jacket over the erection showing through his pants, and opened the door to the stall. "Wilson... I think I found your boy toy. Looks like you were renting him out for the night.”

Wilson immediately dropped down to slap Chase's cheek in an attempt to wake him. When it was clear he was out cold, Wilson hoisted him up under his arms, though he struggled. "I think he's drugged," he said, ignoring House's earlier comment.

House snickered. "No shit, Sherlock." He focused on his friend's mixed expression. "I chased away a few guys from him... he wasn't very happy about it. Then he passed out."

"They must have given him a date rape drug," Wilson thought out loud as he pulled Chase's arm over his shoulder. "I'm taking him home."

House rolled his eyes. Wilson should know better, but he always was a man of wishful thinking. "I don't think so. All a date rape drug does is knock a person out. I saw Chase actively participating." He leaned against his cane casually. “He drugged himself.”

"House, just shut up, okay?” Wilson suddenly snapped. “I'll talk to him later about this... not that it is any of your business, anyway."

House said nothing else as Wilson carried Chase out of the bathroom. Wilson was always trying to fix broken people around him, House could contest to that. He saw Chase as broken and perhaps more of a pet project than anything else. Wilson probably loved this, taking care of someone who needed him, even when Chase was showing obvious signs of infidelity. 

But what House and Chase had moments ago, just the two of them, had been real. House frowned as he felt the pounding of music pulse uncomfortably against his ear drums, muffled strangely by the thick bathroom walls, and watched Chase slip through his fingers.


	3. Chapter 3

Chase woke up the next morning with a killer headache. There was some Advil and a glass of water strategically placed on the night stand beside the bed and he downed them without hesitation. It took him a few fuzzy minutes to realize he must be in Wilson's bedroom, and for that, he was initially thankful. 

That was before the man himself came into the room wearing a heavy scowl. It was too late for Chase to fake sleep. "What happened last night?" Wilson asked calmly as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

The question caught Chase off guard. Memories of last night came rushing back to him but he wondered if he could play the dumb blonde card. "I think I drank too much..." he began, but Wilson abruptly cut him off. 

"You have a hickey on your neck that was not put there by me."

Chase's hand automatically went to the bruise as if to cover it up. "I... I don't really know what happened..."

"Well, let me fill you in on what I think happened," Wilson interrupted again angrily. Chase didn't think he had ever seen him more upset. "You snuck off to the bathroom with some random men for a quickie while your boyfriend waited and worried at the bar."

"No... I… no. I wouldn't do that, Wilson... James, you have to believe me," Chase sat up and immediately felt his head spin. He wasn't lying, after all, just simply leaving out the fact that he may or may not have had steamy, confusing foreplay with his heterosexual boss who is also his boyfriend’s best friend. 

Wilson stared at him for a moment before he erupted into unexpected laughter. "This is my punishment, isn't it? For cheating on my wives. I finally find someone I can't get enough of and you can't keep it in your pants any better than I can!" He had stopped laughing and was yelling by the end of the tirade. "Did you fuck them?!"

When House heard the sudden volume of Wilson’s voice, he was in the doorway a second later. He had been up for a while now and was listening to them through the vent. "Gooood morning, Ladies. I hate to interrupt a morning rough-and-tumble, but I'm starving and looking for someone to make me breakfast." House gave them a fake grin that didn’t fool anyone. If Wilson wasn’t going to stop screaming at Chase, there wouldn't be just one cripple in the room.

Chase didn't think he'd ever been so relieved to see him. Wilson took a deep breath and seemed to calm down. He didn’t want to give House the satisfaction of seeing them argue. "We will talk about this later," he told Chase in a neutral tone, but he didn’t storm off immediately. Wilson must have seen something in Chase's eyes because he ran a gentle hand through the other man’s hair before he stood up, turned around, and left the room. 

Chase sighed deeply, placed an arm over his eyes, and wished he was anywhere but where he was.

***

The next afternoon, House knew what happened the second he saw Wilson's face at a table in the lunchroom. It was the same depressed, lost puppy look he always got when a divorce from one of his many marriages was final. He sat down opposite of his friend and greeted him with a deviant smirk. "Oh no... let me guess. Trouble in paradise?" He stole his food.

"It’s over. I broke up with him," Wilson admitted miserably. "He couldn't tell me what happened at the club. He just... I don't know… he’s too secretive, I guess. I think our whole relationship was based on sex." He then paused to wait for House to gloat about how he knew all along it wouldn't work out.

House chuckled. "And there is something wrong with a relationship based on sex?" he questioned, because he couldn't see how that could be a negative thing. "Oh well, you always have Miss Chase Look-A-Like who would go out with you. That is... if you're into girls nowadays."

Wilson rolled his eyes and flicked a fry at House's head. "You are enjoying this, aren't you? I'm miserable, Chase is apparently upset enough not to come to work this morning...-" 

They were interrupted when suddenly Lisa Cuddy took a seat at their booth. House had seen her coming, but Wilson hadn’t and he jumped in surprise. It was clear that she was angry by the way her breasts heaved, her lips pursed, and by the way she wouldn’t take her eyes off of House. 

"What did you do to Chase to make him quit? He's been with you the longest and put up with your crap longer than anyone so you must have done something awful," she immediately demanded, shoving the resignation letter into House’s face.

House snatched up the piece of paper and narrowed his eyes at it. Chase had quit without informing him of it at all. He viciously crinkled the paper up in a ball and threw it down on the table, making Cuddy and Wilson both jump this time. The diagnostician didn’t say a word before he stormed out of the cafeteria and out of the hospital. 

***

An hour later, House found himself knocking on Kylie’s door, knowing Chase was there with her. His car wasn't at his apartment, but it was in front of hers. He covered up the peep hole on the door and waited as a hesitant Kylie answered. 

"Where is he?! I know you're hiding him here somewhere," House growled.

"I am not getting involved in this... but he's in the guest room," she answered briefly before she grabbed her coat and walking out the door and into the hallway. Quite the loyal cousin, House mused to himself. He liked her.

In the bedroom, Chase cringed when he heard House's voice. But he was a grown man and House was no longer his boss, so he could no longer threaten him. He closed his laptop where he had been about to buy tickets for the first plane back to Oz.

House swallowed his anger and the desire to barge into the room and shake some sense back into his pretty blonde head. Instead, he stood in the doorway and glared at him. "You know, most employees tell their bosses when they quit without so much as two weeks notice." He leaned on his cane.

"I tried to quit earlier but you blackmailed me into staying," Chase shrugged and tried to act nonchalant. "Now blackmailing me won't do any good. Plus, my contract was only for a year and that ended sixteen months ago." 

House fumed. If there was one thing he hated the most it was losing control over a situation. "I see. And this has absolutely nothing to do with your butt-buddy dumping you?" he challenged, taking a few painful steps into the room.

Chase looked away from House to stare down at his hands instead. "It was only a matter of time before he wised up. Anyway, you got your gloating out of the way now. You can show yourself to the door."

House forced himself to remain composed. "You will come crying back to me asking for a job soon enough. You always do. You just can't get enough of me," he accused as he watched the other man throw a suitcase onto the bed and begin to throw clothes into it. 

"I'm going home... to Australia." Chase clarified before House could comment on anything British. "I've already been here two years longer than I had planned. So, no, you won't be seeing me again," he said, not looking at House because he knew he would lose his resolve if he did.

House tried to digest those words to no avail. Chase really meant it this time. But no way was he going to make it there. House took another limp forward and stood directly in front of Chase who was just so damn good at refusing to make eye contact with him. "What are you running so far away from?"

"Nothing," Chase shot back at him quickly, his eyes drifting slowly up to House's. He could never lie to him very well, even if he was sometimes rather good at it. "I just think it's time for me to go."

House enjoyed this, both of them not willing to back down from the other. "No, you think it's time for you to run away again. You've been running away your entire life, don't you get tired of it? And I know it's not Wilson you’re running away from."

Chase crossed his arms over his chest in a defensive gesture. "Well, no, we didn't end it on bad terms or anything. Just... that day in your office when I tried to quit..." he tried to explain but couldn't seem to form the words. Especially after whatever happened last night.

House laughed at that. "Didn't end it on bad terms? You had an orgy in a club bathroom that he walked in on."

Chase frowned. "I... don't really know what happened. I think someone slipped something in my drink."

House snorted, still looking straight into Chase's eyes that were avoiding his own again under the pressure of his stare. "Yeah, right. You always did make up excuses... you just don't want to admit that you really didn't want Wilson at all," he pointed out daringly. He wanted Chase to admit it. He wanted him to admit he wanted, needed something more, and found it that night with House.

House saw the heat rush to Chase’s face in embarrassment when he looked up at him again and backed away from their proximity to each other. "Wilson is a nice man, anyone would be lucky to have him."

"Sure, he's okay," House shrugged. "But he likes to try and fix people. He thought of you like a project, but he realized you were just plain unfixable." 

It was eerie how House echoed his own thoughts. "Or it could have been that I'm awesome in bed." 

House laughed softly, mockingly, but his heart flipped in his chest and he wanted to throw Chase onto the bed to challenge the validity of the statement. "I don't think that's high on Mr. Fix It's list of ideal traits. You didn't want him. You wanted whatever you found in the club that night." 

Chase snapped his head up to glare at House. "What? Getting molested by strangers and passing out in a bathroom? I don't think so!"

House raised an eyebrow. He was running out of ideas, he was running out of actions, but what was he trying to achieve? What was he hoping for? "And you remember nothing else? Just that part? That's interesting," he hinted knowingly. A small smirk played across his lips for a brief moment, only long enough for Chase to see it. "Well, I guess I can't stop you from leaving. Tell the Queen I said hi." He turned around to go.

"Wait, House!" Chase shouted and reached out for him. He recognized that smirk. "What did you do?" he demanded accusingly.

House did not turn away from the door but he did stop to lean leisurely against his cane. "Nothing. You wanted me to leave. I know when I'm not welcome."

"No, don't leave...." Chase asked, and then seemed to realize what he said and took his arm back defensively. "I mean... I know you did something. Did you put something in my drink that night!?"

House had expected this. "No. That I can say I didn't do," he answered honestly.

Chase's eyes narrowed in anger. "You son of a bitch! You bloody set me up! Someone drugged me and you knew about it!"

House was surprised when Chase narrowed it down, and dare he say it, a bit proud. "Now why the hell would I do that? Who else would want to drug you? And why wouldn't I do it myself if I wanted to so badly?"

House had a point, Chase thought. "You still had something to do with this. I know you did.”

"Maybe I did and maybe I didn't," House grinned, and when his leg began to reach a new level of pain, he leaned his back against the wall. This was a whole lot of standing and he didn't like it. There was a bed and there was Chase... so much standing should not be involved in a situation with both. His mind sobered when he realized what he was thinking and what he was doing. He wanted Chase. And not just because Wilson had him. "But regardless of who did it, I sure as hell benefitted," he added with a hint.

"Why are you being so cryptic? First you… you kiss me at work to try and blackmail me into staying and then… were we in the bathroom together before I passed out?" he asked suddenly. 

House frowned, leaned his cane against the wall, and crossed his arms over his chest. This was no longer a game. "I was the one that found you passed out on the floor covered in hickies and a fly open, if that is what you mean."

Chase shook his head. "Yeah, well, that worked out perfect for you, didn't it? Me and Wilson haven broken up so you now have your friend's full attention," Chase accused angrily. This was too much. He needed to turn the tables around fast. "Did James tell you we fucked on your bed?"

House narrowed his eyes. "James wouldn't do that. You're a bad liar," he accused, but in all honesty, it could be true. Yet somehow House thought he would be able to pick up on Chase's scent mingled with his pillows and blankets if it were. "And besides, yes, he probably would have told me. And since he didn't, that makes you a liar. But if you really want to fuck on my bed, I can take you to it." 

It was out before he could stop himself. Word vomit followed by the instantaneous need to actual vomit. 

Chase’s eyes widened and he initially fell silent, now unable to find a come back. "You always say things like that... but I think you are all talk," he challenged.

That was House’s breaking point. In one swift motion, House grabbed Chase around the waist and reversed their positions until the smaller man’s back was pressed against the wall. House was gentler than both the times it had happened before. "Don't dare me," he threatened. 

Chase tensed and glared back at him. "I don't understand why I have to push you to the edge to get any response out of you. I thought you were the kind of man that just took what you want, instead you just play mind games and I'm fucking tired of it," he provoked as he tried to push House away from him.

Oh, but Chase was daring him without daring him. "I thought I took what I wanted in the club that night. You were just too fucked up to remember."

Chase's eyebrows raised in shock. It was one thing to suspect but quite another for House to just outright admit it. But he didn't stay shocked for long, with adrenalin fueling his words. "So I have to be drugged up to get you to touch me?" he challenged. 

House glared at him, trying to make sense of what Chase had just said. Maybe he was so angry he didn't know what he was saying any more than House did. The older man took a step back, released his hold on Chase and provided an escape. "Go then if you are going to leave," he offered.

"Fine then!" Chase shouted stubbornly and pushed even further away from House. He could find someone else to play these games with, he was done. He grabbed his suitcase and his laptop in a huff. "You’re a bastard, you know that?"

House clenched his fists. He had him. He had him right where he wanted him, but he let him slip away again. "So I've been told. And you're running away again. If you just keep running away you will get no where.”

"Give me one fucking good reason I should stay here, then!" Chase finally snapped. 

House watched the anger light up his face. He didn't know Chase's pretty mouth could be so dirty. "To break the trend. To stop running and stay in one place. With me."

Chase stopped his frantic movements and sighed as he dropped his suitcase to the ground. He sat down on the bed and buried his face in his hands, his shoulders slumped in defeat, not knowing what else to do or say.

This was it, the end of the road for both of them. If House didn't acknowledge his desire for Chase now, he would be gone from him forever. And what the hell did he have to lose, anyway? Chase would be halfway across the world soon. But he hadn't left yet. He had practically collapsed onto the bed. House stood awkwardly, leaning on his cane, looking everywhere but directly at him. 

"Do... do you want to come to my place and drink?" House asked softly, and the awkwardness of the question shocked him probably just as much as it shocked Chase. 

"A drink?" Chase looked up, surprised. "Yeah… okay."

House froze, not having expected him to agree. This was all wrong. Chase was too disoriented to really want to leave with him. And what the hell was he thinking, asking him a question like that? He reached into his pocket and pulled out his Vicodin, downing a high dose dry. "Never mind," he took it back suddenly and turned to leave. 

He didn’t go far. Chase stood up and stalked over to House, spun him around, and kissed him with all he had. If this was going to be the last time he saw House, he wanted to make sure he wouldn't forget him.

The older man almost stumbled backwards but found himself before he did after the sharp collision of mouths and teeth and lips. His hands instinctively found their way around his slim hips, hinting beneath his shirt and feeling what little flesh he allowed himself there as he kissed him back aggressively. 

Chase pulled away just long enough to whisper, "You were just going to leave me? Just like that?"

House was breathless and his hands burned hot against Chase's cool flesh, holding him close, not willing to let him slip away this time. His words surprised him. "No. I was going to annoy the hell out of you until you just got up and kissed me, and then ask you to stay with me."

"So that was the plan, huh?" Chase teased between kisses. "That was a sucky plan."

House tried to kiss away Chase's words but when the younger man’s lips found his neck his eyes fluttered closed in ecstasy. "I don't think so. It worked, didn't it?" he asked, his voice low and intimate and a tone Chase had never heard.

"Bastard," Chase mumbled, his breath hot against House’s throat. 

"If you keep using that word it will lose its effect," House warned.

Chase only smiled and kissed him again. When he broke his lips from his, House had to know. "What now?"

Chase sighed. "I guess if you want to pursue this I shouldn't move to another continent. But I still think I should find another job. I'm not going to be the one sleeping with my boss."

"So this is about sex?" House asked him bluntly, because he knew that was all of his relationship with Wilson consisted of.

"No, I..." that had came out all wrong. "I meant that..." Chase stuttered, but he didn't want to scare House off so he tried to choose his words carefully. "If we are going to do this, I don't think it would be a good idea to be working together, too."

"You worked with Wilson."

"I worked in the same building as him, I didn't work under him," Chase tried to explain, but then realized his poor choice of phrasing. "I mean, he wasn't my boss."

Chase was right and House knew it. It was one thing for a doctor to date another doctor in the same hospital as long as one did not have superiority over the other. But when did House ever follow rules? He had a feeling that Cuddy wouldn't care, as long as it didn't hurt her precious baby of a hospital. "Fine. I'm not sure I want you near the hospital and Wilson again anyway," he shrugged stubbornly with just the barest traces of a smirk.

"Possessive," Chase purred, pulling House back into a kiss as his hands wandered up his broad chest. 

House threaded his hands in Chase’s thick blonde hair and deepened the kiss. He had to get out of here before they both ended up in Kylie’s bed. "I have to go back to work," he mumbled when he broke the kiss, and not trusting himself, he turned to limp out of the room.

Chase frowned but let him go. He waited until House was reaching for the door before he yelled, "Come over to my place tonight."

House heard Chase's accented request but did not respond. He was already out the door and on the way back to the hospital. 

***

That night, House hesitated outside of Chase's apartment door. He could hear the T.V. and knew he was home, probably waiting impatient and nervously for him to show up. It was pathetic. House smiled and felt his heart swell.

Chase opened the door widely only a second later. He had just gotten out of the shower and was wearing nothing but a pair of pajama pants. His wet, blonde hair tickled his shoulders. He was done with subtleties. 

House's eyes immediately focused on Chase's chest and he almost forgot to speak. "You forgot me that easily?" he teased him, finally telling his feet to move as they walked him into the room. "I'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen again."

"It's late and you never actually said you were coming," Chase pointed out as he shut and locked the door. 

"I think you knew and you just wanted to answer the door mostly naked and wet," House teased. "I can go though, if you need to sleep. Must have had a long hard day of job hunting," he added sarcastically. 

Chase raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "I have two interviews tomorrow at Princeton General," he informed him. Not that he wanted either of those jobs. He'd always loved diagnostics.

House laughed at that. He knew Chase too well to know he would hate that hospital. He knew where he belonged. Working under him, at Princeton Plainsboro, in every meaning of that phrase. He would just have to convince him. "How very interesting. If you go dressed like that, you'll get the job." 

House knew that Chase wanted House to beg and cry and pout for Chase to take his job back. But House was smarter than that. By not caring, by not asking, he knew Chase would come crying back to him sooner or later.

Chase only rolled his eyes. "Did you come over here just to gloat?"

House smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "You're the one who invited me. I've already found your replacement, by the way. He doesn't talk funny or wear mismatching outfits and hideous ties or have quite as pretty of a mouth as you do, but he will do," he taunted.

Chase tried to hide a smirk. "Well then I'm sure everyone will just love him."

House snickered. "You're cute when you're jealous."

"Yeah, well, you're bat shit crazy when you're jealous." 

Challenged, House advanced towards Chase until he had him backed against a wall. "You shouldn't give me reasons then," he practically growled. It sent shivers throughout Chase’s entire body. 

Chase looked up at House and bit his lip nervously. It always amazed him just how fast the other man could move when he was motivated. "And if I do... give you more reasons to be jealous, that is?"

House bent his head to whisper against his neck. "Then I'll just have to leave marks all over you."

Chase was pretty sure it wasn't normal to be turned on by that and he shivered at House's breath against his neck. "You probably should get started on that, then," he provoked, and unable to hold back any longer, he reached out and pull House even closer.

THE END


End file.
